Ontarians are relying more on food banks than ever before, yet the Premier says Ontario is 1,000 times better now than when he took office in 2018. Speaker, make that make sense.

Feed Ontario released its 2023 Who’s Hungry report on Monday. It shared concerning statistics about the reality for hundreds of thousands of Ontarians. Food banks are struggling to keep up with the continued rapid rise in demand. Between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, over 800,00 people accessed a food bank in Ontario, visiting nearly 5.9 million times; this is an increase of 38%, and 36% over the previous year, and the largest single-year increases ever recorded by Ontario’s food bank network. In Windsor, pre-pandemic, they were serving about 300; now it’s about 1,500. The report states that two in five visitors had never visited a food bank before, an increase of 41% over the previous year. Workers are turning to food banks in greater numbers, with more than one in six visitors now citing employment as their primary source of income. Social assistance remains a significant driver of food bank use, with recipients of OW and ODSP increasing by 17% over last year. The majority of food banks are worried about meeting the need in their community, with 69% of food banks concerned about having enough food and 53% indicating that they were worried that they do not have enough funding to adequately sustain service.

Speaker, poverty is a policy choice; it’s this Conservative government’s choice. Ontarians deserve better.

My question is for the Solicitor General. It’s no secret that Ontarians are fed up with the unnecessary and useless carbon tax. It is a regressive and harmful tax that hurts everyone, including the important public services that keep our communities safe and well.

While we have heard about the negative impact that the carbon tax is having on rising costs for families and businesses, it is very concerning that firefighters in communities across Ontario are also being impacted. The carbon tax is driving up fuel and gasoline costs for everyone in our province. It is not right, and it is unacceptable that response vehicles used by firefighters should be negatively impacted by this federally imposed carbon tax.

Can the Solicitor General please explain the negative effects of the carbon tax on our front-line firefighters across Ontario?

It is vital that we provide our brave and courageous fire-fighters with the tools and the resources that they need to protect our communities, instead of paying for additional fuel costs because of the carbon tax. Can the Solicitor General please elaborate on how our government supports our front-line firefighters instead of punishing them through the regressive carbon tax?

My question is for the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development. Because of the federal carbon tax, life has never been so unaffordable. Northerners are already feeling the pressure at the gas pumps, where fuel costs are significantly higher than in the rest of the province. While Ontarians are struggling because of rising costs, the independent Liberals and the opposition NDP members continue to agree that the carbon tax should nearly quadruple, raising the price of everything even higher.

The carbon tax adversely affects our businesses and negatively impacts our economy and Ontario workers. Speaker, can the minister please explain how the carbon tax negatively impacts individuals and families in northern Ontario and in Indigenous communities?

Speaker, can the minister please provide further details on the adverse effects that the carbon tax is inflicting on the residents, communities and businesses throughout the north?